Council will not rehear North Park school expansion plan

NORTH PARK  A Catholic school’s renewed attempt to expand its North Park campus has failed, and the issue is likely headed back to court.

In the latest development of a long-running and complicated dispute between the school and the surrounding community, the Academy of Our Lady of Peace will not be getting a second chance to present its plan to the City Council. The council deadlocked 4-4 on the issue Tuesday.

The vote was not on the merits of the expansion project itself, but a hearing on whether to waive council rules in order to give Our Lady of Peace another chance to present it. The council already rejected Our Lady of Peace’s project once, in 2009, and the school responded by suing the city.

Tuesday’s one-hour hearing was held as part of a legal settlement between the city and the school. But the council vote means the school will likely continue litigation.

Council members Tony Young, Kevin Faulconer, Lorie Zapf and Carl DeMaio voted in favor of waving council rules to hold a new hearing. Todd Gloria, Sherri Lightner, David Alvarez and Marti Emerald sided with residents who oppose rehearing the project.

“I am offended that the applicant would file litigation rather than work with the community to come to a resolution,” Lightner said. “To approve this suspension of the rules, I think, sends an amazingly dangerous precedent.”

In March 2009, the council voted 5-3 to deny a plan by Our Lady of Peace to demolish three homes in order to build a new classroom building and parking structure. The vote was a reversal of the Planning Commission’s approval of the project.

In response, the 129-year-old school filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city of infringing on the school’s right to freedom of religion and violating a law that prohibits public agencies from enacting zoning regulations that impose a substantial burden on religious groups.

The city and school negotiated a settlement in January that paved the way for Tuesday’s hearing. However, now that the council refused to rehear the project, it appears Our Lady of Peace is prepared to take the issue back to court.

“This case will proceed in litigation, and OLP will be contesting it to the end,” Our Lady of Peace board member and alum Alison Adema told the council.

In response, Emerald later said: “Bring it on.”

“The applicant has chosen to try bullying this City Council into allowing this redo,” Emerald said. “I don’t respect that process.”

Residents in the neighborhood want the school at 4860 Oregon St. to preserve the homes, which they say are historic. Residents argued that nothing from the original expansion plan has changed, and it does not merit any further consideration.

Paul Robinson, an attorney representing the school, disputed that charge.

“The project did change,” he said. “The building became smaller, we lost classrooms and the parking structure went underground at great expense to the school.”

During the hearing, 20 residents opposed the expansion and two people in favor spoke. Earlier, a request to delay the hearing by Our Lady of Peace, which is on Easter Break, was denied.

Young, DeMaio, Faulconer and Zapf all said they hoped to avoid a costly lawsuit.

“I am very troubled by the cost of the litigation that is pending at a time when the city is in a financial crisis,” DeMaio said. “All the applicant is asking for is an opportunity to bring the project back.”